Word Origin & History

lag "fail to keep pace," 1520s, from earlier adj. meaning "last" (1510s), e.g. lag-mon "last man," possibly from a Scand. source (cf. Norw. lagga "go slowly"), or some dialectal version of last, lack, or delay. Related: Lag; lagging. First record of lag time is from 1956.

Example Sentences for lagging

The lagging crowd of listeners paused, breathless, to lose no word.

Then he passed on round to the front of the building with the lagging step of indifference.

So I worked on and on, with spurts of fury and periods of lagging.

I could scarcely force my lagging steps, one by one, to carry me.

The sea was rolling heavily, and a good many of our ships were lagging.

No dull, lagging hour has dragged me backward in my daily duties.

Nearly every one of my correspondents have been lagging and languishing.